Pregnancy & Parenting

Ok ladies, so here's the scoop.  My wee one is five weeks old, and I've dropped 24 of the 35 pounds I gained in pregancy.  However, I lost 22 of those in the first ten days, and have been pretty much at a standstill since then.  Everyone tells me that the weight will "melt off" with breastfeeding.  If this is true, when can I expect the great meltdown to start?  Is it realistic to expect the weight to just take care of itself with breastfeeding?  I have really stepped up my exercise, with at least a 2 to 4 mile walk daily, in addition to an hour of cardio (usually indoor cycling).  My weight and 'fat pants' aren't budging.  Any experienced mamas out there who can advise me on weight loss and breastfeeding?  Thanks!

I ate normal after both of my boys and lost all my weight PLUS while breastfeeding. Give your self time to heal before you push yourself too hard. It does take time. By 8 weeks I fit into my regular clothes after my first(Had to go back to work and the pre preg clothes did fit, tight but fit!). They were a little tighter but slowly got looser and looser. Good luck! I nursed both of mine for about 15 months each. As I said good luck and it does take time. It will start falling off. Relax and enjoy your little one! Boy do I miss those cuddly days! Mine are now almost 4 and 6!

For myself I lost all of my pregnancy weight within the first month or so of my DS's life.  I nursed him on demand around the clock.  So yes you have the potential to lose much of pregnancy weight.  However, for some woman its possible to hang on to several pounds of fat for "just in case".  This little extra usually doesn't go away until after weaning.

Now a word of caution about weaning, YOU CAN GAIN A LOT OF weight while in the process of weaning.  I experienced this...even though my DS was 18 months old and didn't quit nursing until he was nearly 3.5.  He went from nursing nearly around the clock (what can I say he loved his nur nur's) to nursing just during the day.  That was several hundred calories my body was no longer using to make milk...and thus started packing on my thighs. 

Relax and enjoy the babe.  Your body hasn't fully healed from child birth let alone ready to drop off any weight.  Let your body heal more and then find a work our routine...for myself that was walking with my baby in a sling. 

I can second that about gaining it back when you wean!  Been there done that!  I did much better the second time around but the first time I packed on several after I weaned him.  Good luck!

I really wish nursing books talked about weaning weight gain. "They" don't mind selling the idea of weight loss due to breastfeeding to our image conscious culture. 

 

Definitely encouraging!  I'm trying not to panic about not fitting into pre-preg clothes, it's just hard to imagine having to buy a whole wardrobe to wear for the next year in case the weight doesn't come off!

With my first all the weight (I'm talking 60lbs) came off quickly ( alot of it was water retention anyway).  I was walking with baby almost every day.  It did take time for my body to change shape ( I was 26) I mean my hips were/are wider than pre- baby.  With baby 2 (born 23 mos later)  again the weight came off (didn't gain nearly so much) but the shape and contours of my body were very different (highly recommend toning when your body has healed).  Of course in the 5 years since my 2nd I gained a bunch of weight but that's a different story.  Kudoos on the activity so soon after baby.

Hey Machatica!! I felt the same way right after  my son was born!  So i started exercising because I wasnt losing any weight.  So I started jogging and doing my ellyptical and I started bleeding again.  So the doctor said for me to stick to walking till the bleeding stops again.  After a couple of weeks the pounds did start melting off and all I was doing was walking every day.  All Im saying is be careful at how much you exercise around 6 weeks... and be patient because if your eating healthy and doing light exercise your weight will go down!! 

You can  do it!!! :) 

I am in almost the exact same boat, my weight right before delivery was 167, nine days later I was 140 and now almost three weeks post partum I still bounce between 141 and 139. My pre pregnancy weight was 130 and I am really worried that my body is just going to hang on to the extra weight until after I finish breastfeeding.

How many calories are you eating? I average 1700 to 2100, with light exercise, mostly walking and light resistance training. sometimes i think I might lose faster if i restricted my eating more, but I am so hungry and I don't want to short hand my little boy on breast milk.

Hey swearimn--sounds like we're twins!  I'd estimate that I eat between 1800-2500 cals/day, but try to keep to the lower end.  So far my breastmilk hasn't seemed to suffer, but like you, I get super hungry if I drop too low.  I think, as the others have suggested, we just have to be patient with this process.  It's SO hard though, isn't it? 

Swearimn and Machatica-I wanna be a twin too- okay I guess actually you gals would have to choose to be a triplet with me instead! I have a 7 week old DD- #2 for me, but my first is almost 13 so its practically my first- everything is different now! I gained I think like 45 pounds during PG. Everyone said it would melt off with BFing and I am just not having that experience! I lost about 20 immediately also, and now have lingered at the same place for a month! It sucks! I haven't been very actve because I just got the OK from my midwife to begin excercising. I worked out twice last week (Yoga-Yay me!) and I have been doing some walking. I am planning to start walking every day (I like the sling idea, my DD doesn't care much for the stroller) and keep doing Yoga 2-3 times per week. My Calories have been  in the same range as you ladies, but I think I need to decrease sugar and increase protein. I recently removed dairy from my diet because of my DD's sensitivity to it, and I used to get lots of protein from dairy so I am kinda transitioning trying to figure out what to eat for protein. Sorry for the novel girls, just nice to know I'm not the only one!

I think your very lucky that you can work out 5 weeks after having a baby ....I really packed on the weight the last 2 months of pregnancy and even though I lost 34 lbs in the first 2 weeks after giving birth I was unable to do any excersise do to having a C - Section ( which really sucked!) I still get pains 6 months later but am now able to do regular excersise, so even though I have been breast feeding (you can eat an extra 500 cal a day ) I've found it really disapointing till now . I'm finally  able to walk my normal 3 miles a day and do my mile of jogging so hopefully the weight will start to come off now .... remember you just had a baby it takes time I'm sure if you are able to work out so soon you will be able to lose the weight in no time ...the best advice I had from some of my friends who have had a few baby's is to remeber that even if you hit your normal weight chance are you may not fit into your old clothes because your hips have had to widen anyhow enjoy your little one !

I'm in the same boat. I lost 25 quickly and the last 10 are still hovering about.  I'm breastfeeding  and it's just not "falling off".  So now I started working out and eating healthy.  The problem is that I have people telling me that my milk supply is gonna go down because I'm not eating enough calories.  What is a good amount of caloires for milk supply AND weight loss???  I'm eating 1500-1600 and doing about 30-45 of walking/jogging 4-5 times a week.

I lost all but about ten pounds.  My midwife told me that the last ten pounds might be hard to lose until after I *stopped* breastfeeding, because the body needs the fat stores to produce milk.  My 2 year old daughter just finally weaned, so now I'm ready to lose, but I'm adding an extra ten pounds to the list to lose for a total of twenty pounds. 

eherrera26, I'd go with a 2000 calorie diet or just eat healthy and when hungry but keep up the exercise.  Too much exercise can also cause lactic acid (from working out your muscles) to enter the breastmilk, which is not harmful in the least, but can change the flavor, so some babies turn their noses up at nursing because of it.  Just keep that in mind.  Give yourself time.  As long as you eat well and keep active, it will come off (minus that last ten pounds!). 

 

Remember ladies- it took you 9 months to gain that weight!  Give yourselves at least 9 months to take it off  

 

My DD is almost 10 months old and I'm still holding on to that last 10 lbs and an extra 10 from my DS nearly 4 years ago!  I did find after I weaned my DS at 13 1/2 months that I gained a little but eventually lost more than I had gained!!

 

i think we all need to realize that it does take time to lose this weight while nursing our babies! i getjealous bc some of u lose so fast but i have lost 25 lbs in 4.5 months and although it has been slow it is coming off!

only 25 more to go- yeah!!

i only ever count on 1 lb a week and my goal is nov 30th!!- babies 1st bday

I hate to be the bearer of the bad side.  My LO is now 8mo.  At 3 week I only needed to lose another 3 lb, but then my body went crazy and without changing much in eating I started to gain weight!!!!!   I now weight and additional 15 lb more then when I gave birth for me that is almost 30 lb pre-preg.  For some the magic of breastfeeding just does not happen.

I am trying again to at least maintain and to stop gaining.

I lost all of my pregnancy weight i gained which was around 27 pounds breastfeeding so yes you can lose weight doing it.  :)


Clarice

wow I feel like a big loser and not in the good way. I gained 60 lbs. and had lost 35 by the time I got home. After 4 mo, I have only lost 10. I feel a bit upset when I hear you talking about it being so slow when you have lost 25 lbs in 4 mo. that's pretty fantastic! I would be so happy, over the moon...

I am walking 5 x per week and also doing cardio and weights 3 x per week. I feel good but I am still in preg cloths and it's a tiny bit disheartening. I didn't eat a ton when I was pregnant either. I ate healthy but I did eat more and I kept exercising every day. I felt great but I was big.

Is there anyone else who is in the same boat? I feel I would be lucky to lose the weight by one year. And I would have to sweat it and be on this site and working out a lot to even get there.

Does anyone think something is wrong with me? I mean my results are not the norm for this group. I'm almost 40 and I'm breastfeeding...

ainla:

 Metabolism and hormones play a big part in how you loose weight. Our bodies are still getting used to NOT being pregnant, and being close to 40, your metabolism is slower than say, a 25 year old. Don't sweat how long it takes you to lose the weight, but just that you are loosing it!

Also, you lost a crap of weight in five months, so give yourself props for that! 45 lbs in five months?! Way to go!! My husband had some encouraging words for me when the scale wouldn't budge. "It took you 9 months to gain this weight, so it should take about twice as long to get it off." Unfortunately, I'm in the military, so I have to get back in shape a bit sooner than that. There is a support group on this site for breastfeeding moms and weight loss. Try it out!